Sullivan is overseeing a lawsuit by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group suing the State Department. It is one of scores of such lawsuits filed by individuals and groups who were incorrectly told by the government that Clinton had no emails before the arrangement became publicly known in 2015, two years after Clinton left the department.

“On the advice of counsel, I will decline to answer your question in reliance on my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” Pagliano said 128 times over 80 minutes in response to a series of questions by a Judicial Watch lawyer. The deposition under oath took place on Wednesday.